News & Reports 2012-03-18

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In This EditionThe international community, including China, Russia and the United States, has expressed concerns over North Korean's announcement of planned satellite launch next month.
China's UN ambassador calls for international support for the peace efforts put forth 1 by UN special envoy 2 to Syria, Kofi Annan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he has told US President Barack Obama to withdraw American troops from rural areas in Afghanistan.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera re-affirms support for Argentina in its claim over the disputed Falkland Islands.
Hot Issue ReportsWorld Powers React to North Korea's Plan for Satellite LaunchThe international community, including China, Russia and the United States, has expressed concerns over a planned satellite launch by North Korea next month.
Chinese Vice 3 Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun has met with Ji Jae Ryong, North Korea's Ambassador to China, to express China's concern about the matter.
Zhang said China hopes the parties concerned will remain calm, exercise restraint and avoid an escalation 4 of tension that could lead to a more complicated situation.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Ministry 5 spokesman Liu Weimin urged "constructive 7 efforts" regarding the Korean peninsula.
"We are aware of this news from North Korea. Maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and the northeastern Asian region aligned 8 with all sides' interests is the hope of the international community. This will require all sides to make constructive efforts."South Korea's foreign ministry has denounced the planned launch as a "grave provocation," and Russia has called on Pyongyang to abandon it.
Ri Yong Ho, North Korea's vice foreign minister and nuclear negotiator, is expected to discuss the planned satellite launch when he meets with his Chinese counterparts in Beijing over the weekend.
Pyongyang has announced that the satellite launch will take place around mid-April from a launch pad in North Phyongan Province.
The North argues that such launches are part of a peaceful space program that is exempt 9 from any disarmament agreements.
But U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland deemed the launch plan "egregious 10.""Frankly 11, if they were to go forward with this launch, ... it's very hard to imagine how we would be able to move forward with a regime whose word we have no confidence in and who has egregiously 12 violated its international commitments."North Korea agreed last month to suspend nuclear activities and long-range missile tests in exchange for food aid from the U.S.
A UN Security Council Resolution adopted in 2009 prohibits North Korea from conducting launches that use ballistic missile technology.
China UN Envoy Supports Annan's Syria EffortsChina's UN ambassador Li Baodong has called for international support for the peace efforts put forth by UN special envoy to Syria, Kofi Annan.
Li made the remarks after attending the Security Council's informal consultation 13 and hearing on Annan's briefing via video-link from Geneva.
"China supports special envoy Annan's mediation 14 efforts concerning the Syrian crisis. We support his recent visit to Syria, which was a very important one. We call upon the international community to support Mr. Annan's efforts and create conditions for his mediation. China hopes that all relevant parties in Syria will cooperate with Annan and support his mediation efforts."Li said the Security Council had an in-depth exchange of views with Annan on the situation in Syria.
Meanwhile, Syria's UN envoy, Bashar Ja'afari, expressed his country's support for Kofi Annan's mission as well.
"I would like to assure you on behalf of my government that Syria is committed to making Mr. Annan's mission successful. Discussions between the Syrian government and Mr. Annan are taking place, and Damascus is expecting a technical team from Mr. Annan's office to arrive in Damascus on Sunday to discuss further issues related to the fulfillment of his mission."Annan met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad twice during his visit to Damascus last weekend. He has also met with Syrian opposition 15 leaders inside and outside the country.
The UN envoy is tasked with persuading both sides in Syria to end the yearlong violence, allow in humanitarian 16 aid, and begin a political dialogue.
Afghan President Tells Obama to Withdraw Troops from Rural AfghanistanAfghan President Hamid Karzai says he has told US President Barack Obama to withdraw American troops from rural areas in Afghanistan.
The move follows the alleged 17 shooting of 16 Afghans by an American soldier days ago.
"I have made it clear and announced in media that they should leave our houses and villages. The American president has called me and talked about this issue. He asked, 'Did you announce this?' I said, 'Yes, I announced it.' I have said get out of our villages. He said that it is good and we will talk about it in Chicago where the NATO conference will be held in two months' time."Obama called Karzai early on Friday, seeking clarity on the Afghan leader's demand that US forces pull out of Afghan villages.
Karzai claimed he stood firm on that demand, which took US leaders by surprise a day earlier.
The White House confirmed that the two leaders agreed to continue discussing the matter.
White House press secretary Jay Carney said "the two men were very much on the same page" about the overall plan to remove foreign forces by the end of 2014.
Meanwhile, the Afghan President has said he was losing patience with what he called lack of cooperation on the US side in the investigation 18 into the killing 19 spree.
A U.S. staff sergeant 20 is accused of breaking into the homes of three Afghan families, shooting 16 of them dead and burning some of the bodies.
A senior US official has just said the soldier is Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales.
The official spoke 6 on condition of anonymity 21 because of the sensitivity of the investigation into an incident that has roiled 22 relations with Afghanistan.
US officials said previously 23 that the suspect was a 38-year-old staff sergeant and that he spent 11 years in the Army.
Iraqi Militia 24 Frees American CaptiveA militia loyal to Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has freed an American former soldier after holding him captive in Baghdad for nine months.
The American, identified as Randy Michaels, was shown on television in a U.S. military uniform with no insignia.
Michaels was handed over to the United Nations mission in Baghdad, which said it was in touch with the U.S. embassy.
The former captive said he had been held by the Yom al-Maoud, or Promised Day Brigade, an offshoot of Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.
"I was taken inside Baghdad and have been kept in and around different locations within the city by al-Maoud. It was explained to me that my release has been for humanitarian purposes and there was no exchange involved."Sadr disbanded most of the Mehdi Army and joined mainstream 25 politics in 2008, and his followers 26 are part of the governing power-sharing coalition 27.
But the Promised Day Brigade remain armed.
The U.S. embassy could not immediately be reached and U.S. officials in Washington were not immediately available for comment.
The Pentagon has said none of its serving troops are believed to be held in Iraq since last month when it recovered the remains 28 of the last missing soldier.
The United States withdrew its forces from Iraq in December, with the exception of a few hundred service members stationed as part of the diplomatic mission at its embassy.
The U.S. mission still includes 2,000 diplomats 29 and, as of last year, 14,000 civilian 30 contractors 31.
Mass Protest in Macedonia against Inter-ethnic 32 Mob ViolenceSome 2,000 activists 33, celebrities 34 and intellectuals have marched in Macedonia calling for an end to the worst spate 35 of inter-ethnic mob violence since the Balkan country narrowly avoided civil war a decade ago.
The past two weeks have seen a string of tit-for-tat attacks by mobs of youths from Macedonia's Slavic-speaking majority and ethnic Albanian minority, armed with baseball bats and knives and often targeting public transport.
"We want to show that we want to live together, all together one with another, not one next to other, without violence, and live together.""We want to show that people who live in Macedonia want peace, they are against violence, against conflicts which were happening last week."Macedonia was rocked by fighting between government security forces and ethnic Albanian guerrillas in 2001 but Western diplomacy 36 pulled them back from the brink 37 of civil war.
At least a quarter of Macedonia's 2 million people are ethnic Albanians, living mainly in the north and west. A decade on, tensions persist, fuelled by poverty and the slow pace of integration 38 with the West.
Mexico's Leftist Presidential candidate Vows 39 to Transform NationMexico's leftist presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has pledged to radically 40 transform the drug-ravaged Latin American country.
Fifty-eight year-old Obrador is running again for the nation's top job six years after his razor-thin loss in the last election.
Addressing a rally in Mexico City, he said his leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution was the only hope for real change in Mexico.
"Three candidates, one a woman, but there are only two options, two projects, two roads. More of the same, which we know means poverty, unemployment, insecurity, violence or a real change. Things are very clear in the country."Obrador is a champion of the poor in a country where nearly half the population lives below the poverty line.
He spooked investors 41 during the 2006 presidential race with his fiery 42 left-wing rhetoric 43.
But this time he is seeking to present himself as a moderate, pro-business leader offering programs to boost small enterprises.
Obrador currently lags behind his two opponents in opinion polls four months ahead of the presidential elections.
Forty-five year-old centrist Enrique Pena Nieto leads the three presidential candidates.
Wreckage 44 of Norwegian Military Plane Missing in Sweden FoundSwedish police said debris 45 from the wreckage of the missing Norwegian military transport aircraft in the Arctic near the top of Sweden's highest mountain has been found.
Hakan Ahlseling, a Swedish police officer.
"As of nine o'clock this morning police took over responsibility for the search and rescue efforts. We have found wreckage debris we suspect are from the missing plane in two areas. That is at the Rabots and Bjorlings glaciers 46 on two sides of the Kebnekaise peak."Norway's Armed Forces said the plane hit the western wall of the Kebnekaise mountain. And a ground military unit has confirmed the findings. The search continues for the plane's body and five Norwegian officers aboard.
Ahlseling said rescue workers had not found any sign of the five crew members.
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules transport craft lost contact with air traffic controllers on Thursday in high winds and snow as it took part in a 15-nation military exercise organized by Norway.
Chile Offers Support to Argentina over FalklandsChilean President Sebastian Pinera has re-affirmed "firm support" for Argentina in its claim over the disputed Falkland Islands.
Pinera was speaking after a meeting with Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez in Santiago.
"I offer anew the firm support of our country to the rights of Argentina in the dispute over the sovereignty of the Malvinas (Falklands), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and over the maritime 47 territories around them."In response, Fernandez thanked the people of Chile for their support for Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands.
"All the love and an enormous hug to the entire Chilean people, and thanks to all the Chileans I came across who shouted at me, 'The Malvinas (Falklands) are Argentina's.' Thank you so much."Argentina still claims the "Islas Malvinas" despite nearly 180 years of British control and a failed occupation 30 years ago.
Fernandez is trying to use diplomatic and economic power to force Britain into sovereignty talks ahead of the April 2nd anniversary of the 1982 invasion.
Buenos Aires recently announced it would pursue "administrative 48, civil and criminal" penalties against the dozens of companies involved in oil development in the Falklands. The islands had their first major offshore 49 oil discovery last year.
Britain, in turn, says there is nothing to negotiate, as the islanders have the right to self-determination.
Chavez Returns to Venezuela after Surgery in CubaVenezuelan President Hugo Chavez has returned to his country almost three weeks after undergoing cancer surgery in Cuba.
Chavez told a crowd gathered to greet him that he is now in a recovery mode.
"During the past two weeks, maybe a bit longer, I have been in a process of clear recovery. Nobody must think that this is all over now. We are winning, but we must continue to be rigorously disciplined."He has said his cancer was first diagnosed during a visit to Cuba last June.
Initial surgery in June removed a tumor 50 the size of a baseball. Surgeons removed another tumor from the same location in his pelvic region last February.
Chavez underwent four rounds of chemotherapy following initial surgery last year.
He now plans to undergo radiation therapy treatment.
Last weekend, Venezuelan cabinet ministers were in Havana for a televised meeting where Chavez reviewed government projects ranging from subway expansion work to public housing complexes.
Thai Authorities Display Haul of 2.5 Million Methamphetamine PillsThree Thai nationals could receive the death penalty if found guilty of drug trafficking in their home country.
Police caught the two women and one man with more than two million methamphetamine tablets and 50 kilograms of crystal meth at a warehouse 51 in northern Thailand as they prepared to take them to the capital, Bangkok.
It was the third major drug bust 52 in Thailand this month.
Authorities put the total street value of the drugs at 525 million baht, or 17 million U.S. dollars.
Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubumrung, who is in charge of the country's illegal drug crackdown campaign, says he is trying to fast-track drug cases so executions can be carried out within 30 days of a guilty verdict.
"Once the criminal court issues its verdict in a drug case, the next step is the appeals court. If the appeals court upholds the verdict, the case is over. I'm trying to think of how we can speed things up so the death penalty can be carried out just 30 days after the appeals court has upheld the verdict."Yubumrung also spoke briefly 53 to the three suspects, asking their ages before having a cursory 54 inspection 55 of the haul.
Thailand is a leading market and transit 56 point for methamphetamine, much of which is produced in neighboring Myanmar.
A Massive Forest Fire Destroys Kenya's Biggest Water TowersA raging fire has destroyed at least 2,000 acres of indigenous 57 forest in Mount Kenya National Park. Officials there suspect honey harvesters and poaches caused the fire which started a week ago.
Simon Gitau is Deputy Warden 58 of Mount Kenya National Reserve.
"Almost 100 percent of fires on this mountain are caused by human beings, but up to now, we do not know who caused the fire. But I am sure it is a human being. This forest is dense 59 enough. It is a human being who caused this, but we are still investigating."The forest is a major water tower in Kenya and the second highest mountain in Africa, which is famous for hiking. It is home to nearly 900 species of rare plants and numerous animal species.
The fast blowing winds have aggravated 60 the fire, and the Kenya Wildlife Service warns that the inferno 61 has started spreading towards the treacherous 62 mountain peaks, making it difficult to fight.
"This is not moorland fire; this is fire inside the indigenous forest and where the water catchment is. The fire is being fanned by wind. There are strong winds especially during the day. The thing is that the moisture content on the ground is very low because of the wind and high temperatures that we are experiencing in the country right now."Park officials have closed hiking routes and access to climbs on Mount Kenya to prevent visitors and their guides from being trapped.
China Daily: Gov't Must Expand Consumer Rights to Stimulate 63 ConsumptionIn recent years, the ever-growing Chinese economy has resulted in a large number of citizens armed with full wallets and purses.
At home, the government has been encouraging this newly affluent 64 group to loosen their purse strings 65 as it tries to boost domestic consumption as key economic growth engine.
Internationally, various western leaders are wooing this group to succeed their European and U.S. counterparts to help reinvigorate the sluggish 66 world economy.
An editorial in China Daily says in light of the growing affluence 67 of some Chinese, it is necessary to expand domestic consumer rights to further unleash 68 their purchasing power.
On the occasion of this week's World Consumer Rights Day, the editorial says strengthening Chinese consumers' rights is as important as distributing wealth more equally among all citizens. It calls for continued government efforts to protect consumers from fake and substandard goods and services in the domestic market.
The editorial says it welcomed a recent antimonopoly investigation that forced two state telecom giants to agree to cut fees for internet connections and hopes more such cases against monopoly industries, especially in the underdeveloped service sector 69, will be initiated 70 to better satisfy and stimulate domestic consumer demand.
In conclusion, the editorial states that consumer-led growth will be possible only when the government expands consumer rights in a timely manner and better protects them.
***************************People's Daily: Rare Earth Case Reveals US HypocrisyU.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday that his country along with Japan and the European Union had filed complaints with the World Trade Organization about China's rare earth export quotas 72.
Obama said the move was an effort to give "American workers and American businesses a fair shot in the global economy."A commentary in China's People's Daily newspaper argues that Obama does not care about the environmental degradation 73 caused by China's disorderly and excessive mining of rare earth materials as long as American workers and businesses can profit from the country's cheap supplies. It says Obama's remarks are shocking for a president who likes to portray 74 himself as pro-environment.
As the world's largest rare earth producer, China has put in place new regulations on rare earth manufacturing with exports based on the sound rationale of sustainable growth and environmental protection. In the past, a lack of strong regulations posed grave dangers to the country and its people by depleting 75 natural resources and destroying the environment.
The article rebuts 76 many western critics who ascribe China's purchase of raw materials from Africa and Latin America as grabbing resources or even "colonialism." Yet, none of them use similar words to describe the West's exploitation of China's cheap rare earth minerals. The article calls this sheer hypocrisy 71.
The commentary suggests that Obama propose tapping his own country's 13 million metric tons of rare earth deposits as this would not only enable the United States to share the responsibility for supplying rare earth materials, but also create jobs for Americans.
The People's Daily article concludes that a victory for the U.S., Japan and the EU in the WTO case would be a loss for the global environmental cause.